Businessman Marico Thomas is enjoying the sweet taste of success with his latest venture.

The man behind Four Star Pizza is expanding the offerings at his new Glaze bakery and pastry shop.

Now he has branched out into wedding cakes and other special occasion cakes, showcasing some of his expert bakers’ work at a wedding show at the Fairmont Southampton last weekend.

And, in addition to a wide variety of fresh-baked doughnuts, the store now offers treats like pot pies and empanadas — turnovers stuffed with savoury fillings.

And Mr Thomas hinted that the Glaze brand could be expanded into an Island-wide chain along the lines of his successful Four Star empire.

Mr Thomas, who also runs Indigo restaurant in Flatts and North Shore Bakery, confessed that his own sweet tooth helped spark his newest business.

He said on overseas trips, he was a regular customer at doughnut shops — and that helped him decide to open his own store.

Mr Thomas — who is celebrating 25 years in the food business — added: “It occurred to me that a plane ticket, hotel room and a car rental was a bit much to pay for a good doughnut.”

He explained that his firm already runs a bakery, supplying cakes, tarts, pies, bread and pastries to hotels and guest houses — but had never expanded into retail.

Mr Thomas said: “I was in a conversation with some friends who wanted to buy a cake and were dissatisfied with the options that existed. I just thought that cake could be done better.

“All these things came together and it took 18-24 months of thinking and planning to try and determine the best position for the product range and create the right identity for Bermuda.”

Mr Thomas said business had exceeded expectations since he quietly opened the shop in Hamilton’s Bermudiana Road last December — and that word of mouth had boosted customer numbers.

He added: “We avoided publicity because we wanted to be really good at what we did.

“People have been pretty excited about the doughnuts because that was the first thing we introduced.”

Mr Thomas said that, in addition to expert staff from overseas, Glaze had taken on nine Bermudian staff, who had been trained in the business.

Glaze offers 20 to 25 kinds of doughnut every day from a rotating menu of around 300 different creations.

And he said that the pot pies and other savouries had also proved a hit with customers.

Mr Thomas added: “We hear people talking about the doughnut shop — we’re proud of our doughnuts but we’re a pastry and bakery shop.”

And he said that wedding and special occasion cakes — which can be customised for clients up to a cost of thousands of dollars if required — were also proving popular.

Mr Thomas added: “We can decorate anything from a three-inch doughnut to to a 3ft, 5ft or 6ft cake.

“People don’t have to just have a traditional cake and even with a traditional cake, there are a lot of options, like fresh flowers or handmade sugar flowers. We do the table settings as well and some decor items.

“Glaze is in the event expression business — I don’t want people to just shop off a price list and buy out of a book. It’s about what people want and creating that personal expression for them.”

Mr Thomas added that a rash of new food businesses on the same stretch of Bermudiana Road, including Nonna’s Kitchen and frozen yoghurt shop Yo Cherry, had helped lift the street — and fill gap sites.

He said: “With the addition of our neighbours and what we’re doing, it’s a foodie street — quite eclectic and quite exciting.

“It’s a good range of shops in a small place and there’s generous parking — the street has come alive.

“It’s bounced back and there’s a lot of life. Our neighbours drive traffic and we have queues outside our door.”